I received £18k in a web based competitors however I have never seen a single penny – I’m fearful I’ll by no means get what I’m owed

A competition giveaway winner who believed he picked up a BMW M3 or £18,000 has been left disappointed along with many others still waiting for their prizes.

Dafydd Bayliss has been taking part in prize draws with Level Up Giveaways for the last three years, but this is the first time he has won.

As a soon-to-be first-time buyer, the 31-year-old opted for the the cash to help for a new kitchen and bathroom.

Expecting to receive the money a few days after the draw he is still waiting three months on.

The competitions company, based in Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire, has seemingly stopped paying out cash prizes with their website now suspended.

Prizes in the draw included sports cars, luxury watches and even gold, but website stopped working around 10 days before Christmas. 

Mr Bayliss, from Blackwood in Caerphilly county, south Wales, tried his luck buying five 99p online entries for a draw on 15 September.

It was also possible to enter the competition for free by sending a postal entry to an address in Halifax, West Yorkshire. 

He said he spoke to Anton Hall, Level Up Giveaways’ director, over the phone the day after his big win.  

He added that Mr Hall, 35, was ‘happy’ he took the cash and told him the money would be in his bank account within two to three days.

After receiving occasional explanation from Mr Hall, he is still waiting on payment.

Mr Bayliss is just one of several people the BBC has spoken that have been shunned by the competition after being told they had won. 

‘I have kind of given up,’ said Mr Bayliss said.

‘It was the first time I’d won and it was typical that he stopped paying everyone.

‘I have just gone numb to it. I have probably got a 5% chance of getting the money.’

The last time Mr Bayliss has heard from Mr Hall was November 1, when he was told his bank accounts were ‘on hold’.

Mr Bayliss’ mum Tina has since reported Level Up Giveaways to Trading Standards and Action Fraud, who are the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

She believed her son’s case is ‘just the tip of the iceberg’.

Scott Boyle, an insurance broker from Wakefield, said he wom £1,200 in May  to be paid to him over 12 months.

After receiving five months’ worth, the payments stopped in October.

Phill Harkins, from Manchester has been waiting since October 18 for a 20g gold bar. 

While, Mark McCorry, a 36-year-old father-of-one, won £600 cash October 9. 

He said previously met people who had won cars through the competition and therefore thought it to be ‘trustworthy’.

A Trading Standards West Yorkshire spokesperson told the BBC they have received seven complaints about Level Up Giveaways relating to prize draws. This includes unpaid winnings dating back to 2022. 

A spokesperson West Yorkshire Police added they were unable to provide a statement on inquiries relating to named individuals.

Level Up Giveaways was set up in March 2019, according to Companies House.  

The competition’s social media pages say it has awarded more than £5million in prizes across 5,000 winners. 

In a post today on the competition’s Instagram page, Mr Hall said: ‘I built this company on my own 5 years ago. I have paid out millions in winnings over the years and changed many lives for the best.

‘Yes this year has been one of the worse for the company and me personally.

‘I’m not going to bore you with my personal stuff because nobody is interested and I’m sick of having to put it out there.

‘I’ve put myself in a crazy amount of stress and even debt trying to keep this company afloat when I should have just shut it down years ago when it was running in the minus etc.

‘I have nothing to hide hence just leaving you all to comment and not deleting any of my social media.’

He added that the website is down because the ‘business isn’t running’ and he was unable to keep paying £4,000 a month to continue running it.

Mr Hall added: ‘As for being called a scammer that is far from the truth, if anything it’s the complete opposite which will come out when it needs to.

‘In situations like this it’s easy to forget all the good I’ve done but trust me this rubbish going around is not as it seems and the people who I have managed to speak to know the full story.

‘If you think I’m giving up and running away you are sadly mistaken.

‘As much as this business and all my followers mean to me, my own health and my family mean more and once I’m in a better place I’ll be able to tackle all this rubbish.’